After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

Rebellion is out of the question, but assassination is an option.

The problem is that the outcome of the secret guards assassinating the emperor is almost the same as if she herself killed him. If the emperor dies mysteriously, the capital will inevitably descend into chaos.

Xiang An felt disappointed, thinking to himself: Why didn't the late emperor train more secret guards? We still have to take it one step at a time. But at least now I have my own secret guards, which is much better than before. I should be content.

He let out a long sigh, leaned back in his chair, and slumped into the armchair, pondering a strange matter: why would the late emperor leave 50,000 secret guards for the original owner of this body?

The late emperor passed away on March 2nd of the 53rd year of Renshun, and the original body was born on March 5th of the 53rd year of Renshun, only a few days apart.

Even if the original owner of this body was incredibly beautiful and adorable, the emperor, who was already seriously ill at the time, would never have given her 50,000 secret guards for her newborn child.

Firstly, it's useless; secondly, it would bring her danger.

The late emperor wanted to harm her? Impossible! How could a little baby who couldn't speak or walk possibly offend the late emperor?

When an emperor dies, the secret guards who followed him during his lifetime will inevitably be buried with him in secret. This serves two purposes: first, to prevent the secret guards from revealing the dirty deeds and secrets of the previous emperor; and second, to facilitate the new emperor in cultivating his own secret guards.

As a result, not only did the late emperor's secret guards survive, but they were also returned to the original body that was still in swaddling clothes at the time.

According to records in the books of Piaoxianglou, the late emperor was a wise and virtuous ruler who was skilled at using the art of balance to govern the country. During his reign, the people lived in peace and prosperity, the country was strong, and he established many policies that benefited the country and its people, which are still in use today.

How could an emperor skilled in the art of balance, and hailed as a wise ruler, possibly make a willful and foolish decision because of a newborn baby?

The late emperor was dissatisfied with the current emperor, worried that the emperor was not a wise ruler, and was wary of the emperor.

No, that should either be given to the most trusted and prestigious minister of the late emperor, or to the empress, so that she can supervise the new emperor after becoming empress dowager. It shouldn't be the original owner of this body's turn.

Furthermore, it doesn't make sense. During periods of power transition, the new emperor's throne is unstable, and local princes and nobles are most prone to rebellion. Therefore, even if emperors throughout history were dissatisfied with the next emperor, they would never leave obvious obstacles for the new one. The previous emperor was wise enough not to do anything foolish knowing his days were numbered.

Besides, what does one care about what happens after death? The fate of the previous emperor, its rights and wrongs, all come to an end at the moment of his death. How later emperors wreak havoc on the country is none of the previous emperor's concern.

Could it be that he's delirious from the illness? Is that even possible?

Perhaps the answer lies in this last, unopened letter.

The envelope was elegantly inscribed with the four characters "To my beloved daughter Xiang An." Clearly, this was written by the deceased Empress Liu to the original owner of this body.

Empress Liu died of postpartum hemorrhage after giving birth to the original owner of the body. The original owner never saw her. In order to avoid the emperor being saddened by the sight of her, the palace burned all of Empress Liu's portraits.

Logically speaking, a child who has never met their birth mother would be curious enough to open a letter from her deceased mother to see what she left behind; it's unlikely they would read one letter and then ignore the others. This is strange.

Xiang Anding held the letter, hesitating whether to open it or not. What if there was no answer inside, but a mother's deep love for her daughter?

After a long pause, Xiang An slapped herself hard on the forehead. No matter what, she, an outsider, had no right to open the letter from the original owner's birth mother without permission.

With his eyes closed, Xiang An put all the letters into his spatial storage, muttering to himself, "Sooner or later I'll be killed by my own benevolence and morality..." He didn't even dare to open a single letter.

Stepping out of the study and closing the door, Xiang An casually beckoned a servant to fetch Diao Xi. Sun Yi's body was too important, so Xiang An dared only let Diao Xi handle the matter.

That night, an assassin broke into the princess's study. Sun Yi was stabbed to death on the spot while protecting Xiang An. Xiang An was then rescued by Diao Xi, who happened to be on patrol. Unfortunately, Diao Xi was no match for the assassin and could not capture him even after several exchanges. He could only barely protect Xiang An.

Enraged by his failed assassination attempt, the assassin set fire to the study and escaped the princess's residence in the chaos, never to be found again.

"Princess, are you hurt?" Xiao Ru circled around Xiang An several times, afraid that she might be injured but would keep quiet.

"It's alright, your princess isn't that weak," Xiang An raised an eyebrow smugly. "Besides, she still has your Diao Xi protecting her, so don't worry."

Xiao Ru blushed slightly: "That's good. By the way, Princess, what about Xiao Ling's body? Could it have been burned along with Steward Sun's body?"

The fire in the study last night was too big; no one dared to rush into the flames to drag away a corpse that was already dead.

After the fire was extinguished, the crowd lifted Sun Yi's charred body from the ashes. They admired Steward Sun's loyalty and lamented his pitiful state, as he was first assassinated and then his body was burned to a crisp, leaving him without even a complete corpse.

But the people's pity was only verbal; in the princess's mansion, as long as the princess was safe, it didn't matter to them who died.

So, in the end, the biggest loss to the princess's residence from this earth-shattering event of assassination and fire was the death of a steward and the burning of a study.

"Bury her." That's a bit too cold-blooded. After a moment's thought, Xiang An added, "If there are any living people in her family, send someone to deliver fifty taels of silver to them."

"Giving money? Such a daring person, in my opinion, even if she dies, she shouldn't die easily. The princess is too kind; she shouldn't be buried. She should be left to rot in the wild, to be eaten by wild dogs!" Xiao Ru revealed an unprecedented ruthlessness for the first time.

Xiang An paused, ignoring the strange feeling that had just arisen in her heart, and slightly raised her chin, gesturing to Xiao Ru: "Sit."

Xiao Ru put down the tea she had brewed, smiled and shook her head: "Princess, I am lame, not broken."

"Okay." Xiang An handed a piece of paper to Xiao Ru. "Take a look and see if there's anything that needs to be changed."

Xiao Ru was stunned. The paper depicted a specially made stand, its lines rough and clumsy, and it wasn't very attractive. Clearly, the artist wasn't skilled in painting, but for some reason, she had a gut feeling that this was prepared for her by Xiang An.

Xiao Ru's eyes reddened: "Princess, this..."

"Don't be so moved." Xiang An frowned slightly, looking troubled. "When you wear this, people won't easily notice your leg problems when you walk slowly, but they will still be noticeable when you walk fast. I have already instructed the craftsmen in the palace to find a way to make a more exquisite one, but for now, you will have to make do with this crudely made one."

"Thank you for your grace, Princess." Xiao Ru excitedly bent down to kneel in gratitude, but Xiang An quickly stopped her, gently scolding, "Why are you kneeling again? I've told you many times not to kneel. Don't you listen?"

"Listen, listen, listen." Xiao Ru wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes with the back of her hand. "It is already my greatest honor to have the princess put so much thought into me. In the future, the princess should not waste any more money on me."

"Shut up." Xiang An was annoyed. Ever since Xiao Ru injured her leg, whenever she spent any money on her, Xiao Ru would nag about "wasting money."

Too lazy to explain further, Xiang An pulled Xiao Ru into a storeroom, pointed to several boxes stacked in the corner, and asked, "What's in these boxes?"